Ads from Romney's campaign have hammered President Barack Obama for supposedly "gutting welfare" by removing the work requirement from the federal assistance program.

An independent and non-partisan fact-checking organization, PolitiFact, rated the ad's claim as "Pants on Fire." CNN also rated the ad 'false." And the Obama campaign, the White House and former President Bill Clinton, who signed the original legislation into law, all attacked the Romney spot, saying the claims were false and misleading.

On Tuesday, Romney said those analyses were flawed.

"It has been shown time and again that the president's effort to take work requirement out of welfare is a calculated move, the same thing that he did in regard to food stamps," Romney said.

Pushed on the fact checks that claim Romney's ads are false, the GOP nominee maintained that Obama's administration was making a concerted move to remove work requirements from welfare.

"You look at the facts," Romney said. "Did he take the work requirement out of welfare?"

The Obama administration directive, issued July 12, allows individual states to experiment with changes to their welfare-to-work programs, which are federally funded. The intent, according to the directive, is to "challenge states to engage in a new round of innovation that seeks to find more effective mechanisms for helping families succeed in employment."

The welfare-to-work program affected by the directive – the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) – was created by the welfare reform law signed by Clinton in 1996. That measure was considered a win for conservatives, who long pushed for a provision that required work training for Americans receiving government assistance.

The Obama administration argues the potential changes would help people move quickly from welfare rolls to paying jobs by reducing burdensome requirements, including excessive paperwork.

Romney said Tuesday that argument was bogus.

"You always have the capacity to add work," Romney said. "There's never been a requirement that you can't have more work. The requirement that they're waiving was saying that people don't have to work to get welfare. That's the change that they proposed. I disagree with that direction."

"Taking work requirements out of government assistance is a very bad course to take and creates a culture of dependency," the Republican nominee concluded. "We help people who need help, we want to help people who need help, but the idea of removing work requirements I think is a mistake."

In Tuesday's interview, Romney also hammered Obama again for suggesting that recent events in the Middle East, including the killing of the American ambassador to Libya, were merely "bumps in the road."

"I'm not sure what developments in the Middle East he would consider bumps in the road," Romney said. "I consider the developments in the Middle East a very troubling course."

The GOP candidate also said Obama's wasn't treating Iran "like the pariah that they are," saying more could be done to prevent the nation from developing nuclear weapons.

soundoff(300 Responses)

I don't understand yet how Romney expects to increase employment if he wins, but if he loses, I'm sure there will be a huge increase in demand for comedy writers to replace the Romney/Ryan team.

September 25, 2012 06:34 pm at 6:34 pm |

werescrewed2012

The gop and romney are just hilarious.........terrible

September 25, 2012 06:34 pm at 6:34 pm |

wellywellup

So, he tells a lie in his add. and then backs it up with more lies? Wow, I really don't like mitt the twitt in the least. He is a monster.

September 25, 2012 06:35 pm at 6:35 pm |

rasko41

Weasel-word alert! "It has been shown time and again ": pronounced "there's no evidence"

September 25, 2012 06:35 pm at 6:35 pm |

Me 3

So Romney says he has had to do a bunch of fundraising to counter Obama attacks. The truth is that he has given up, and is now just trying to fill his coffers with money from stupid GOP donors. He is a professional leech on society as was Gingrich. Taking money from stupid donors and those stu[pid enough to invite him to speak is Gingrich's full time job. Romney does not want to have to tap into his hundreds of millions in off shore accounts.

September 25, 2012 06:36 pm at 6:36 pm |

tomnikoly

That all ya got Mitt?

I can wait for the debates.

September 25, 2012 06:36 pm at 6:36 pm |

wolfpackbob

It is The Economy, Mr. President. Your Economy, Mr. President. You built that.

September 25, 2012 06:36 pm at 6:36 pm |

kev

Romneys first ad was a lie on a McCain qoute.

September 25, 2012 06:39 pm at 6:39 pm |

Mike - Ohio

From Mitt Romney's very first ad attacking Obama:

-- Saying the ad "obviously got underneath (the Democrats') skin," the former Massachusetts governor maintained his team edited the ad intentionally to show "what's sauce for the goose is now sauce for the gander."

This ad wasn't even from a SuperPAC, it was directly from the Romney camp. So was the ad attacking Obama on his welfare waivers with outright lies, as well as his ads attacking the Medicare savings that both Obama and Ryan have in their ACA and budget respectively.

The Romney campaign openly dismissed fact checkers because of the scrutiny his ads received. To be frank, for any politician to say his ads have been "spot on" is a stretch, all political advertisements stretch the truth or outright lie depending on their style.

However, most of the ads attacking Romney are simply old videos of Romney from when he was the far more liberal governor of MA compared to the "severely conservative" version of today (and every shade of Romney in between).

That and his 47% remark. I can't wait for the debates.

September 25, 2012 06:40 pm at 6:40 pm |

Sandra

Sir, I've seen your ads. They are at best, obfuscations, and creative audio/video editing. Misleading, pandering, and outright lies.You seem to think that people won't go looking or researching what you say, or check for the full video of the sound bites you use. I'm an Independent Voter who does just that. You, sir, lie or approve lies to be aired. No wonder the GOP is doing its damnedest to suppress the vote in swing states. It's the only way you'd win.

September 25, 2012 06:40 pm at 6:40 pm |

Mikey

"Anytime there's been anything that's amiss we correct it or remove it," Romney told CNN.
***************************************************************
I guess you have to admire his ability to lie so effortlessly and with a straight face. On second though, there is noting admirable about his complete disregard for facts and disrespect toward the voting public by lying in our faces constantly. I can't wait for his 15,000 hours of fame to be over. He can strap the dog to the roof, take the plane up to 35,000 feet and open the windows and enjoy the oxygenated breeze.

September 25, 2012 06:40 pm at 6:40 pm |

ohreally

See, even when cornered by the facts. Mitt will still lie. This is the mentality of a CEO. They don't have to be honest. They just have to make money.

I thought Republicans were suppose to like it when powers were returned to the state.

Oh I forgot, we're not suppose to like anything Obama has done, even things we use to support.

September 25, 2012 06:44 pm at 6:44 pm |

OO

Romney is unbelievable in how persistent he lies! How can he rely on these same fact checkers to show falsehoods in the ads other put out and at the same time dismiss them as unreliable in their assessment of his welfare ad agains the presidient? He lies and then thinks by forcefully repeating those lies we somehow would believe them. that is dangerous because he has this "no apology" mantra and he thinks that cures him of his wimpy persona. the same way he is attempting to justify his 47% remarks. he has enough idiots thinking those remarks were pot on too. The same way some people still believe that going to Iraq was the right thing to do! This guy will lead this country into some mess, hopefully not a horrific war, if he becomes the president of this country.

September 25, 2012 06:44 pm at 6:44 pm |

Veteran For Truth

Dr. Strangelove.... He lives in his own world....

September 25, 2012 06:45 pm at 6:45 pm |

Da Memory Retainer

"our ads have been absolutely spot on," including ads deemed false by independent fact checkers.
"Anytime there's been anything that's amiss we correct it or remove it"...
That is : we won't let reality get in the way of our campaign ads. And should that happen we wipe out your memory , remove it and shake the edgea sketch for a fresh start. typical Romney.

September 25, 2012 06:47 pm at 6:47 pm |

Michael

Unbelieveable. Is Romney for real? I don't get it.

September 25, 2012 06:48 pm at 6:48 pm |

jw

Three things I know about people. You can't trust Liar's, or Thief's, and if your word is no good, your no good, and that's how I vote!

September 25, 2012 06:49 pm at 6:49 pm |

MikeInFC

I do believe Romney is telling the truth when he says he believes what he says. Anybody would believe a lie if they didn't know any better. My assessment of his mental capacity was severely downgraded after his weekend's comments on not knowing why you can't roll down the windows on passenger jets in flight. The more I hear him speak candidly, the less I think he truly understands anything. He does remind me of Reagan, but only in the last few months of his presidency when his mind was drifting away.

September 25, 2012 06:50 pm at 6:50 pm |

Keep us all on our heels...

Yes, Mitt, you have been spot on with your ads.. No, you are not dilusional in your assesment... Yes, the middle class workers earn between $200,00- $250,000... No you are not out of touch... Yes. everyone has parents they could borrow money from to go to college or start a business. No, we do not believe that Governors from republican states asked for and received a waver as long as they agreed to increase the number of those joined to the workforce by 20%. Yes, you have all the correct answers to all our questions.

September 25, 2012 06:53 pm at 6:53 pm |

jparker

Omg is he delusional? Romney actually believes his own lies.

September 25, 2012 06:54 pm at 6:54 pm |

alloco

what a blatant, bold face liar! Anything to win over the right wingnuts.

September 25, 2012 06:54 pm at 6:54 pm |

Robone

This guy won't even admit the teuth when faced with the facts. That is a very troubling cahracteristic for a would be President.